Many minimally invasive medical procedures require a guidewire to be inserted into a patient and one or more catheters or other medical devices to be advanced over the guidewire in order to perform a medical procedure, view body tissue or obtain a tissue sample. While performing a procedure, it is not uncommon that the physician wishes to change the orientation of the guidewire. This is particularly true if the guidewire has an angled tip and the physician is trying to direct the tip into a branch in a patient's vasculature. Because guidewires are long, thin wires, it is difficult to maintain an adequate purchase on a guidewire in order to impart torque to its distal end. Therefore, many physicians use a guidewire torquing device that clamps on to the wire in order to allow the physician to twist it.
Most guidewire torquing devices are advanced axially over the proximal end of the guidewire and include a pin vise or sliding locking mechanism that compresses the guidewire in order to secure it. Such torquing devices generally require two hands to operate and require the physician to load the torquing device over the entire proximal length of the guidewire. Other types of guidewire torquing devices are side loading, clip-like devices that grasp a guidewire in a channel. However, most clip-like side loading torquing devices do not maintain an adequate purchase on a wire to allow a user to impart torque to its distal end.
Given these problems, there is a need for a side loading wire torquing device that can be operated with a single hand and that can allow a user to impart torque to it. In addition, the device should be easy and inexpensive to manufacture.